Mowbray optimistic despite run

Boro lost 2-0 to Brighton at the Riverside on Saturday - a result which means the Teessiders have now picked up just eight points from a possible 51 in 2013. That run has left Middlesbrough closer to the relegation zone now than the playoffs.

Speaking after his side's defeat to Brighton, Mowbray said: "I don't think we're much worse than we were in the first half of the season, and yet we can't win a game at the moment. Confidence is probably a bit down.

"There's room for optimism for next year, and listen we've got four games to go. Let's wait and see."

Middlesbrough's league decline has led to questions regarding Mowbray's future at the club. However, the Boro boss said any decisions would come from the club's Chairman Steve Gibson.

He said: "The Chairman, who is from where I'm from, he's from Teesside. He'll have his own opinions on things of management - of what's right and what's wrong - and there's only one guy in our football club who makes those sort of decisions."